Setting

Inspection report for early years provision

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EY218778 Unique Reference Number 05 July 2006 Inspection date Anne Schurek Inspector

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Integrated Type of inspection Childminding Type of care

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The inspection was carried out under Part XA Children Act 1989 as introduced by the Care Standards Act 2000 and, where nursery education is provided, under Schedule 26 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998.

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ABOUT THIS INSPECTION

The purpose of this inspection is to assure government, parents and the public of the quality of childcare and, if applicable, of nursery education. The inspection was carried out under Part XA Children Act 1989 as introduced by the Care Standards Act 2000 and, where nursery education is provided, under Schedule 26 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998. This report details the main strengths and any areas for improvement identified during the inspection. The judgements included in the report are made in relation to the outcomes for children set out in the Children Act 2004; the National Standards for under 8s day care and childminding; and, where nursery education is provided, the Curriculum guidance for the foundation stage. The report includes information on any complaints about the childcare provision which Ofsted has received since the last inspection or registration or 1 April 2004 whichever is the later.

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The key inspection judgements and what they mean

Outstanding: this aspect of the provision is of exceptionally high quality Good: this aspect of the provision is strong Satisfactory: this aspect of the provision is sound Inadequate: this aspect of the provision is not good enough

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The key inspection judgements and what they mean

For more information about early years inspections, please see the booklet Are you ready for your inspection? which is available from Ofsted's website: www.ofsted.gov.uk.

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

On the basis of the evidence collected on this inspection:

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

The quality and standards of the care are good. The registered person meets the National Standards for under 8s day care and childminding.

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

The quality and standards of the nursery education are satisfactory.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The childminder has been registered since November 2002. She lives with her partner and two children aged five and seven years. They live in a three bedroomed detached house in Bedfordshire. The local school and play area are within walking distance. All areas of the property are used for childminding. There is a fully enclosed garden available for outside play.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The childminder is registered to provide care for four children under eight years. She is currently minding nine children under five years, all of whom are part-time.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

It is a non-smoking household. The family has two dogs, one cat, one rabbit, one hamster and one giant land snail. The childminder is a member of the National Childminding Association and attends the local carer and toddler group as well as other local amenities.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The inspection was carried out under Part XA Children Act 1989 as introduced by the Care Standards Act 2000 and, where nursery education is provided, under Schedule 26 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998.

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is good. Children are provided with a wide range of activities, both in the home and outside, that promote their wellbeing. There are daily activities that support and develop the children's physical needs. For example, the children have access to outside physical play on the trampoline and climbing frame and regular opportunities to walk to and from school.

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Helping children to be healthy

The children are made aware of positive hygiene practices through effective routines and facilities provided. Older children can access the toilet and wash facilities promoting their independence skills. There is ongoing visual monitoring of equipment and toys to ensure that they are kept clean, especially with the younger children. There are clear details in the care and exclusion of sick and ill children to prevent cross-infection.

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Helping children to be healthy

All children have regular drinks and are aware of the importance of drinking, older children helping themselves from the water cooler as and when they are thirsty. The childminder offers a variety of regular healthy and nutritious meals and snacks for the children in line with the local 'Healthy Eating programme' and parents' requests. Menus are available for parents to see daily located on the parent notice board. This ensures that individual children's likes, dislikes, dietary needs and parents' requests are met.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is good. Children are cared for in a welcoming, secure and safe environment which offers a well planned play room, with good facilities to actively meet the children's individual needs. The childminder has a very good understanding of safety both inside and out of the home. For example, the childminder has safety gates, socket covers and she regularly practices fire evacuation procedures with the children. She organises indoor and outdoor space effectively, creating a child-friendly environment which enables children to explore and take risks while being appropriately supervised.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Equipment and resources are of good quality and are kept in a clean, safe condition. Children can freely choose from a wide range of age-appropriate and stimulating resources, allowing them to develop their independence through accessing the toys, activities and exploring their surroundings. The childminder minimises risks through daily visual checks inside and out. She uses plans to encompass children's learning potential in line with the 'Birth to three matters' framework and the Foundation Stage guidance.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children are protected by the childminder who has an understanding of child protection and her responsibilities and procedures to follow in the event of a concern or child protection. She has attended relevant training and has written policies in place, however, they do not reflect the most up to date procedures . Relevant information is held and available.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The inspection was carried out under Part XA Children Act 1989 as introduced by the Care Standards Act 2000 and, where nursery education is provided, under Schedule 26 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is good. The children are happy and settled and they thoroughly enjoy their time with the childminder and her family. The children relate well to each other and they are able to extend their social, physical and learning skills through regular visits to groups in the community and further afield. For example, visits to Shepreth Animal Park, the library and local parks. These provide the children with an excellent range of experiences and challenges in interesting settings.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The children are eager to participate. The childminder is sensitive to their individual needs, obtaining information from parents to enable her to offer a flexible child-led approach to activities and resources that they want to access. She ensures that all children have equal access to a variety of creative resources such as water, sand, paints, play-dough and they experience tactile and sensory materials by adapting them to children's individual ability. The children sit with the childminder and share a book, which fosters their listening skills and helps them to recognise things that are familiar to them. The childminder monitors and assesses the younger children's development using 'Tracker books' and links their progress to aspects and components within the Birth to three matters framework.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory. Children are making sound progress towards the early learning goals. They are happy and interested in their play. The childminder has developed an understanding of the Curriculum guidance for the foundation stage and plans activities for children based on observations of what they know and can do. Children's records of assessments are regularly updated, however, these are not used effectively to identify how children will be challenged appropriately to make progress and learning intentions are not fully understood.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children confidently show increasing skills in recognising and using numbers to support their play, for example, looking for and counting shells in the sand pit and counting the tomatoes growing on the tomato plant. Time and resources are used effectively to enable children to experience inside and out play opportunities. Children enjoy using a range of resources and equipment. These include imaginative play scenarios, crafts and regular outings in the community.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children are confident in using pencils and chalks, however, opportunities for putting their own mark on creations is limited. Children communicate well both verbally and through early literacy skills. They enjoy sharing experiences and can complete tasks such as identifying their name on labels.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children enjoy their play and activities. they display increasing skills and gain a sense of belonging through seeing their art work valued and displayed. They are gaining a thorough knowledge of their community and the wider world through topics, resources and activities. These include visits to the local library, animal park, children's shows and music group. Children show an interest in books and listen intently to the story. The childminder extends their thinking by asking open-ended age-appropriate questions.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The inspection was carried out under Part XA Children Act 1989 as introduced by the Care Standards Act 2000 and, where nursery education is provided, under Schedule 26 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is good. The children are welcomed into the childminder's home and have equal access to resources and activities. They are beginning to learn about the wider world through planned activities to celebrate festivals such as Chinese New Year and Harvest festival: they have access to a range of resources depicting all areas of equal opportunities. The children have regular access community activities which supports her approach. The childminder takes account of all the children's individual needs and this is shared daily with parents to ensure that they are continually met.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Behaviour is managed in a caring and sensitive way promoting children's self-esteem and confidence by giving appropriate and sincere praise and encouragement. Children have a good awareness of the boundaries in place as the childminder is consistent in her approach. The children learn to negotiate and take responsibility for their behaviour through house rules that are evident in picture and word form for them to see. The children relate well to each other and happily share and take turns when playing or undertaking activities. Children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is fostered.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Partnership with parents and carers of funded children is satisfactory. The childminder provides a parents' notice board, newsletters and daily diaries to share information with parents regularly and effectively. However information is not obtained to enable her to know what children can do when they start at the setting and so aid planning for funded children. There are written policies, procedures and contracts of agreements which effectively inform parents of the care and activities provided. The majority of information is exchanged on a daily basis, this keeps parents informed on the children's holistic development, however, the incident record needs to be maintained and made available to parents. Relationships with parents are very good and contribute to the children's wellbeing.

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Organisation

The organisation is good. Overall the provision meets the needs of the range of children for whom it provides. The childminder is well organised and efficient in all aspects of her provision. The children are welcomed into a safe and well resourced environment that benefits their wellbeing. Space, both indoor and outdoor, is set out to maximise play opportunities for children allowing them to initiate and develop their own play and learning. They are able to move around safely, confidently and independently and the childminder organises her time well to meet the needs of the children.

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Organisation

There are detailed policies and procedures in place that support the quality of the childminding offered; all documents and records are kept and stored securely and maintained confidentially. Parent's notice board and newsletters ensure that parents are well informed of activities offered at the setting. Communication books are used daily to inform parents of their children's progress.

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Organisation

The inspection was carried out under Part XA Children Act 1989 as introduced by the Care Standards Act 2000 and, where nursery education is provided, under Schedule 26 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998. The childminder has consistently attended training to enhance her skills and knowledge in most areas of childcare such as, child protection and first aid. She used advice and support from other childminders. She maintains a professional approach to her role as a childminder.

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the last inspection, recommendations were raised relating to health, safety, special needs and documentation. The childminder has improved documentation to include consent for seeking emergency medical advice or treatment, ensuring that parents wishes are complied with. Appropriate car insurance is in place safe guarding children when being transported. Children regularly practice emergency evacuation drills and records show that they work well and they are fully recorded.

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Improvements since the last inspection

The childminder has ensured that the garden tap is safe and secure and inaccessible to children minimising hazards in the setting.

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Improvements since the last inspection

The children have access to a range of resources that reflect diversity which gives them positive images of the wider world.

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Complaints since the last inspection

There has been one complaint made to Ofsted since the last inspection. On 16 March 2005 concerns were raised about leaving children unattended. This concern related to National Standard 6: Safety. Ofsted conducted an unannounced visit to the premises on 08 April 2005 and found the minded children were not under the childminder's direct supervision at all times when attending an outside activity on more than one occasion. The provider was therefore given one action under National Standard 6 to demonstrate how she would ensure that children are under her direct supervision at all time. A satisfactory response was received. The provider remains qualified for registration.

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Complaints since the last inspection

The provider is required to keep a record of complaints made by the parents, which they can see on request. The complaints record may contain complaints other than those made to Ofsted.

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

On the basis of the evidence collected on this inspection:

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

The quality and standards of the care are good. The registered person meets the National Standards for under 8s day care and childminding.

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

The quality and standards of the nursery education are satisfactory.

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The quality and standards of the care

To improve the quality and standards of care further the registered person should take account of the following recommendation(s):

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The quality and standards of the care

The inspection was carried out under Part XA Children Act 1989 as introduced by the Care Standards Act 2000 and, where nursery education is provided, under Schedule 26 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998. • ensure that all incidents are recorded and that parents are informed of the incident on the day • ensure that any child protection procedure complies with those of the Local Safeguarding Children Board (LSCB)

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The quality and standards of the nursery education

To improve the quality and standards of nursery education further the registered person should take account of the following recommendation(s): • further develop the use of assessment systems to identify the stage at which children are in their learning, what they need to learn next and use this to inform future planning and provide appropriate challenge • ensure that partnership with parents is fostered more effectively, when finding out what their child's starting points in development are when they first attend.

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The quality and standards of the nursery education

set out in the leaflet Complaints about Ofsted Early Years: concerns or complaints about Ofsted's role in regulating and inspecting childcare and early education (HMI ref no 2599) which is available from Ofsted's website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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The quality and standards of the nursery education

The inspection was carried out under Part XA Children Act 1989 as introduced by the Care Standards Act 2000 and, where nursery education is provided, under Schedule 26 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998.

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